Patent Application
20210074961
The disclosure relates to the technical field of power battery, and in particular to a power battery and a battery module.
The power battery generally includes an electrode assembly, a case, and a cap assembly. The electrode assembly is formed by winding a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet, and a separator disposed between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet around a winding axis. The electrode assembly is accommodated in the case, and the cap assembly is assembled together with the case and is disposed corresponding to an end of the electrode assembly along the winding axis. The cap assembly includes a cap plate and an electrode terminal disposed in the cap plate, and herein a tab of the electrode assembly is electrically connected to the electrode terminal of the cap assembly. The cap plate includes a liquid injection hole communicating with a closed space.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide a power battery and a battery module. The power battery protects the end of the electrode assembly during the liquid injection, and reduces a probability that a short circuit occurs between a positive electrode sheet and a negative electrode sheet.
one aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a power battery, including: a case including two openings opposite to each other; an electrode assembly which is formed by winding a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet, and a separator disposed between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet around a winding axis, the electrode assembly being disposed in the case, and two opposite ends of the electrode assembly along the winding axis being respectively disposed corresponding to the two openings; a first cap assembly covering one of the two openings, the first cap assembly including an liquid injection hole communicating with an interior of the case; a second cap assembly covering the other of the two openings, the second cap assembly including a through hole communicating with the interior of the case; in a length direction, the liquid injection hole and the through hole are located on a same side of a central axis of the case.
another aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a battery module including a plurality of power batteries as described above.
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure, the drawings used in the embodiments of the disclosure will be briefly described below; it is obvious that the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the disclosure; and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without any creative work.
The views are not necessarily plotted in actual proportion in the drawings.
Below, embodiments of the disclosure will be further described in detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments. The detailed description according to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings below are intended to exemplary illustrate the principles of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, i.e., the disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments and the scope of the disclosed is defined by the claims.
In the description of the disclosure, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of “a plurality” is two or more; the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “inner”, “outer” and the like is merely for the purpose of describing the disclosure and simplifying the description, and is not intended to indicate or imply that the device or component referred to has a particular orientation, is constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood to be a limitation of the disclosure. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are configured for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.
In the description of the disclosure, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, the terms “installation”, “connected to”, and “connected with” are to be understood broadly, and may be, for example, a fixed connection, a disassemble connection, or an integral connection; they can be connected directly or indirectly through an intermediate medium. The specific meaning of the above terms in the disclosure can be understood by the person skilled in the art according to actual circumstance.
Since a liquid injection hole in a cap plate of a power battery is usually disposed facing an end of an electrode assembly along a winding axis, when an axis of the liquid injection hole is in a vertical direction, an electrolyte that is injected into a case through the liquid injection hole will flow in the vertical direction (in order to improve the efficiency of electrolyte injection, it is often necessary to increase the injection pressure of the electrolyte), such that the electrolyte will impact the end of the electrode assembly along the winding axis. At this time, due to the excessive impact force of the electrolyte, a separator between a positive electrode sheet and a negative electrode sheet at the end position will be deformed and displaced, which will cause the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet to contact each other and cause a short circuit.
For better understanding of the disclosure, power batteries according to embodiments of the disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to
As shown in
The placement position of the first cap assembly 3 shown in
The first cap assembly 3 according to the embodiment includes a liquid injection hole 31 communicating with an interior of the case 1. The second cap assembly 4 includes a through hole 41 communicating with the interior of the case 1. In the length direction X, the liquid injection hole 31 of the first cap assembly 3 and the through hole 41 of the second cap assembly 4 are located on a same side of a central axis 1a of the case 1. The central axis 1a of the case 1 refers to a central axis of the case 1 along the height direction Y. Two portions of the case 1 at two respective sides of the central axis 1a are substantially symmetrical with respect to the central axis 1a. On one hand, when the power battery needs to be filled with liquid, the power battery can be placed horizontally (as shown in
According to the embodiment, a projection of the liquid injection hole 31 in the height direction Y at least partially overlaps with a projection of the through hole 41 in the height direction Y. When the liquid injection operation of the power battery is performed, the liquid injection hole 31 and the through hole 41 may be approximately in the same horizontal position with each other, which helps to increase the liquid injection amount of the power battery.
In one embodiment, an axis of the liquid injection hole 31 coincides with an axis of the through hole 41, which can further increase the liquid injection amount of the power battery. Optionally, a shape of the liquid injection hole 31 is the same as a shape of the through hole 41, which reduces the difficulty of manufacturing.
The liquid injection hole 31 according to the embodiment is disposed at an end of the first cap assembly 3 along the length direction X. The through hole 41 is disposed at an end of the second cap assembly 4 along the length direction X. In this way, more electrolyte can be further injected into the case 1.
For the power battery according to embodiments of the disclosure, when the power battery is filled with liquid, since an electrolyte injected into the case will flow along a parabolic trajectory due to its own gravity and does not vertically impact the end of the electrode assembly, the impact force on the end of the electrode assembly will be reduced, which thereby reduces a probability that a short circuit occurs between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet which may be caused by the displacement of the separator included in the electrode assembly under the impact of the electrolyte, improves a yield of the power battery after the liquid injection operation is finished, and also eliminates hidden dangers of the power battery and ensures the safety in the subsequent use.
The technical solution will be further described clearly below with reference to specific embodiments, but the following embodiments do not limit the protection scope of the disclosure.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the liquid injection hole 31 is disposed at an end of the first cap plate 32 along the length direction X. The through hole 41 is disposed at an end of the second cap plate 42 along the length direction X. A projection of the liquid injection hole 31 in the height direction Y completely overlaps with a projection of the through hole 41 in the height direction Y. In this way, the injection amount of the electrolyte can be further increased.
The first cap assembly 3 according to the embodiment includes a first vent film 33. The first vent film 33 is disposed on the top of the first cap plate 32. After the liquid injection operation is finished, an edge of the first vent film 33 and the top of the first cap plate 32 form an annular joint, such that the first vent film 33 and the first cap plate 32 are hermetically connected. The first vent film 33 covers the first inlet 31a of the liquid injection hole 31. After the electrolyte injection operation through the liquid injection hole 31 is finished, the first vent film 33 is hermetically connected to the top of the first cap plate 32, and the through hole 41 is also blocked to ensure that the interior of the power battery is in a sealed state. When the pressure inside the power battery is greater than a design pressure of the first vent film 33, the first vent film 33 will be broken, which thereby releases the internal pressure of the power battery and ensures the safety of the power battery.
Optionally, the first vent film 33 according to the embodiment may have a strip-shaped structure or a circle-shaped structure.
An axis of the first inlet 31a of the liquid injection hole 31 according to the embodiment is arranged offset from an axis 33a of the first vent film 33, and the axis 33a of the first vent film 33 is closer than the axis of the first inlet 31a to the central axis 1a of the case 1. The axis 33a of the first vent film 33 refers to a central axis of the first vent film 33 along the height direction Y, and the first vent film 33 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the axis 33a. In this way, on one hand, it is beneficial to increase a force-bearing area of the first vent film 33; and on the other hand, a diameter of the liquid injection hole 31 can be made small, thus when the liquid is injected from the liquid injection hole 31, more electrolyte can be injected into the case 1 and it can be effectively prevented that the electrolyte overflows from the liquid injection hole 31. A surface area of the first vent film 33 located within the annular joint is the effective force-bearing area of the first vent film 33. The gas discharged from the liquid injection hole 31 can apply a compressive force on the surface of the first vent film 33 located within the annular joint. A cross-sectional area of the liquid injection hole 31 refers to a projected area of the liquid injection hole 31 along the height direction Y. The larger the surface area of the first vent film 33 located within the annular joint, the lower the pressure required for its breaking. According to product requirements, the first vent film 33 is selected to have a suitable size to effectively ensure the safety of the power battery.
The top of the first cap plate 32 according to the embodiment includes a concave portion that is recessed toward the bottom. The liquid injection hole 31 is in communication with the recess, and the first vent film 33 is accommodated in the recess. The concave portion disposed at the top of the first cap plate 32 can position the first vent film 33 so as to quickly install and fix the first vent film 33 at a predetermined position on the first cap plate 32. Also, it is convenient to weld the joint formed between the first vent film 33 and the first cap plate 32, and it is beneficial to realize a quick connection between the first vent film 33 and the first cap plate 32. Furthermore, it can be avoided that the first vent film 33 disposed increases a thickness of the first cap plate 32.
The second cap assembly 4 according to the embodiment includes a second vent film 43. The second vent film 43 is disposed on the top of the second cap plate 42. After the liquid injection operation is finished, an edge of the second vent film 43 and the top of the second cap plate 42 form an annular joint, such that the second vent film 43 and the second cap plate 42 are hermetically connected. The second vent film 43 covers the second inlet 41a of the through hole 41. After the electrolyte injection operation is finished, the second vent film 43 is hermetically connected to the top of the second cap plate 42 to seal the through hole 41 so as to ensure that the interior of the power battery is in a sealed state. When the pressure inside the power battery is greater than a design pressure of the second vent film 43, the second vent film 43 will be broken, which thereby releases the internal pressure of the power battery and ensures the safety of the power battery.
Optionally, the second vent film 43 according to the embodiment may have a strip shape or a circular shape.
Optionally, an axis of the second inlet 41a of the through hole 41 according to the embodiment is arranged offset from an axis 43a of the second vent film 43, and the axis 43a of the second vent film 43 is closer than the axis of the second inlet 41a to the central axis 1a of the case 1. The axis 43a of the second vent film 43 refers to a central axis of the second vent film 43 along the height direction Y, and the second vent film 43 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the axis 33a. In this way, on one hand, it is beneficial to increase a force-bearing area of the second vent film 43; and on the other hand, when the liquid is injected from the through hole 41, more electrolyte can be injected into the case 1 and it can be effectively prevented that the electrolyte reversely overflows from the through hole 41.
A surface area of the second vent film 43 located within the annular joint is the effective force-bearing area of the second vent film 43. The gas discharged from the through hole 41 can apply a compressive force on the surface of the second vent film 43 located within the annular joint. A cross-sectional area of the through hole 41 refers to a projected area of the through hole 41 along the height direction Y. The larger the surface area of the second vent film 43 located within the annular joint, the lower the pressure required for its breaking. According to product requirements, the second vent film 43 is selected to have a suitable size to effectively ensure the safety of the power battery.
The top of the second cap plate 42 according to the embodiment includes a concave portion that is recessed toward the bottom. The through hole 41 is in communication with the recess, and the second vent film 43 is accommodated in the recess. The concave portion disposed at the top of the second cap plate 42 can position the second vent film 43 so as to quickly install and fix the second vent film 43 at a predetermined position on the second cap plate 42. Also, it is convenient to weld the joint formed between the second vent film 43 and the second cap plate 42, and it is beneficial to realize a quick connection between the second vent film 43 and the second cap plate 42. Furthermore, it can be avoided that the second vent film 43 disposed increases a thickness of the second cap plate 42.
In the first embodiment, a case where the liquid injection hole 31 is disposed in the first cap assembly 3 and the through hole 41 is disposed is the second cap assembly 4 has been described. In this embodiment, description mainly focuses on differences from the first embodiment, and the same structure will not be repeated in this embodiment.
In some embodiments, the projection of the first blocking member 35 in the height direction Y completely blocks the first outlet 31b of the liquid injection hole 31, such that all the electrolyte discharged from the first outlet 31b of the liquid injection hole 31 has to turn a predetermined angle before entering the case 1, which further effectively prevents the electrolyte from impacting the end of the electrode assembly 2.
Optionally, the liquid injection hole 31 is disposed at the end of the first cap plate 32 along the length direction X. A first guide channel 36 is formed between the first blocking member 35 and the first cap plate 32. The first guide channel 36 communicates with the first outlet 31b of the liquid injection hole 31. An outlet of the first guide channel 36 is oriented towards the central axis 1a of the case 1. The first guide channel 36 and the liquid injection hole 31 are at a predetermined angle. The electrolyte injected from the first inlet 31a of the liquid injection hole 31 flows to the outlet of the liquid injection hole 31 along the height direction Y, and turns a predetermined angle due to obstruction of the first blocking member 35, and then is discharged through the first guide channel 36, such that the electrolyte will not continue to flow in the height direction Y when it is discharged from the first outlet 31b of the liquid injection hole 31, and thus the flow rate of the electrolyte injected at high pressure will be slowed and the resultant impact force on the end of the electrode assembly 2 will be reduced.
Optionally, the predetermined angle formed between the first guide channel 36 and the liquid injection hole 31 is 90°, such that the electrolyte is injected into the liquid injection hole 31 along the height direction Y and discharged from the first guide channel 36 along the length direction X, which reduces the impact force of the electrolyte on the electrode assembly 2 along the height direction Y.
Optionally, the first blocking member 35 and the first cap plate 32 according to the embodiment have an integrated structure, which improves a connection strength of them, and also facilitates one-time manufacturing, reducing manufacturing procedures and manufacturing difficulties.
Optionally, the first blocking member 35 according to the embodiment has a plate-shaped structure.
In the second embodiment, a case where the first blocking member 35 is further disposed in the first cap assembly 3 has been described. In this embodiment, description mainly focuses on differences from the second embodiment, and the same structure will not be repeated in this embodiment.
In some embodiments, the projection of the second blocking member 45 in the height direction Y completely blocks the second outlet 41b of the through hole 41, such that all the electrolyte discharged from the second outlet 41b of the through hole 41 has to turn a predetermined angle before entering the case 1, which further effectively prevents the electrolyte from impacting the end of the electrode assembly 2.
Optionally, the through hole 41 is disposed at the end of the second cap plate 42 along the length direction X. A second guide channel 46 is formed between the second blocking member 45 and the second cap plate 42. The second guide channel 46 communicates with the second outlet 41b of the through hole 41. An outlet of the second guide channel 46 is oriented towards the central axis 1a of the case 1. The second guide channel 46 and the through hole 41 are at a predetermined angle. The electrolyte injected from the second inlet 41a of the through hole 41 flows to the outlet of the through hole 41 along the height direction Y, and turns a predetermined angle due to obstruction of the second blocking member 45, and then is discharged through the second guide channel 46, such that the electrolyte will not continue to flow in the height direction Y when it is discharged from the second outlet 41b of the through hole 41, and thus the flow rate of the electrolyte injected at high pressure will be slowed and the resultant impact force on the end of the electrode assembly 2 will be reduced.
Optionally, the predetermined angle formed between the second guide channel 46 and the through hole 41 is 90°, such that the electrolyte is injected into the through hole 41 along the height direction Y and discharged from the second guide channel 46 along the length direction X, which reduces the impact force of the electrolyte on the electrode assembly 2 along the height direction Y.
Optionally, the second blocking member 45 and the second cap plate 42 according to the embodiment have an integrated structure, which improves a connection strength of them, and also facilitates one-time manufacturing, reducing manufacturing procedures and manufacturing difficulties.
Optionally, the second blocking member 45 according to the embodiment has a plate-shaped structure.
For the power battery according to embodiments of the disclosure, when the power battery is filled with liquid, since the electrolyte injected into the case 1 does not vertically impact the end of the electrode assembly 2, the impact force on the end of the electrode assembly 2 will be reduced, which thereby reduces a probability that a short circuit occurs between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet which may be caused by the displacement of the separator included in the electrode assembly 2 under the impact of the electrolyte, improves a yield of the power battery after the liquid injection operation is finished, and also eliminates hidden dangers of the power battery and ensures the safety in the subsequent use.
An embodiment of the disclosure also provides a battery module. The battery module according to the embodiment includes a plurality of power batteries according to the above embodiments. The power batteries are arranged side by side in one direction. Since the power battery according to the embodiment has good safety performance, it can be ensured that the battery module as a whole has good safety performance.
Although the disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, various modifications may be made to the disclosure and components may be replaced with equivalents without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In particular, the technical features mentioned in the various embodiments can be combined in any manner as long as there is no structural conflict. The disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201820179736.3 | Feb 2018 | CN | national |
This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2018/083386, filed on Apr. 17, 2018, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201820179736.3, filed on Feb. 1, 2018, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2018/083386 | 4/17/2018 | WO | 00 |
